One of the frustrations of traveling, whether for business or for pleasure, is being unable to read the home town newspaper. Even on relatively short trips, the lack of daily news can be an irritation. On longer trips, or during short-term relocations, subscriptions to magazines and other periodicals are missed, increasing the stress and loneliness of being away from home. Alternatively, a traveler may require a particular publication for business reasons, or as part of a business assignment. The traveler may be in an area where their preferred publications are simply not available. Even where copies of a desired publication are available, the traveler who already has a subscription to his or her favorite magazine may be further inconvenienced if forced to pay full price for a copy of a publication that they have already paid for.
It would be significantly more convenient for travelers if a subscriber to a newspaper, magazine, or other publication could obtain a copy of that publication, or a copy of an individual article from such publications without paying the full cost of a new copy. Travelers could read their home town newspaper over breakfast, no matter how far from home they were.